Samwell Tarly (John Bradley-West ) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in Game Of Thrones Season 1

First appearing in episode of four of Game Of Thrones Season 1, there was little evidence on screen that Samwell Tarly, played by The Borgias‘ John Bradley-West, was going to stick around, let alone become the best friend of Kit Harington’s Jon Snow, or mature as a character – and the latter is exactly what Season 2 has in store for the hapless Night’s Watchman.

“In this season he starts to experience emotions,” explained Bradley-West, exclusively to SciFiNow, “and certain feelings deep down inside him that you never thought he was capable of feeling. It’s really exciting, he kinda matures from a boy into a… half-man, I suppose!

“I think even though Sam crumbles under pressure quite a lot, I think the pressure is good for him and he’s going to change quite a lot. In the life that he leads, you’ve got to get used to pressure quite quickly, so it’s nice to have him experience everything – as bad as it possibly gets, as soon as it possibly can.”

As part of the cast filming in Iceland for Season 2 – alongside Rose Leslie – John Bradley-West and Kit Harington built a rapport that mirrors that of their characters – young men of the Night’s Watch, venturing North of The Wall for the first time to confront Wildlings, White Walkers, and their own insecurities.

“Luckily we had a lot of time together, on set as well as off, to really get to know each other really well,” enthuses Bradley-West, “so a trust developed, and I feel as safe with Kit as an actor, as Sam feels with Jon as a person. It’s great, he’s really nice, and I think when Jon and Sam are together, there’s a warmth. It’s a double act, and there’s a level of warmth that’s in very few other places in the series.”

On the subject of being part of a double act, John Bradley-West found that his role of occasional comic relief lightened his load when it came to the intensive sword training much of the cast have to undergo.

“Well, luckily, because Sam is absolutely useless at it – it’s okay if I’m absolutely useless at it,” admitted the actor. “I don’t really have much experience of [sword fights], except getting hit with a sword – and I can’t really recommend that. I didn’t need any training in being rubbish, luckily enough.”